The Case of Nigeria: A State Stuck in Transition

Abstract

One of the greatest African novelists, the Nigerian Chinua Achebe, eloquently critiqued the situation in his country in his “A Man of the People” (1966) which depicted the fictional country which resembled his own Nigeria. The book depicts politics as defined by corrupt powerful men who in realty were minders of their own rather than of their people. Although Nigeria made a lot of progress in terms of democratization, the legacy of the men of the people still remains the cornerstone of politicking. Politics in Nigeria is based on networks of patronage rather than accountability to the vote. Even the vote is defined by patronage networks and their ability to procure votes. In this chapter, we follow the country’s political history and study the role played by civil society in the country’s democratization. The chapter also shows how civil society has been increasingly co-opted by and into mainstream politics, and how civil society is also increasing to the country’s inability to consolidate its democratic gains.